This invention relates to a bow latch which can be mounted on existing boat trailers and used to automatically secure a boat as it is driven onto a partially submerged trailer.
In the past, two persons have been required to position a boat onto a trailer; one to unwind the winch rope, attach it to the bow hook and then winch the boat onto the trailer while a second person stayed in the boat to keep it in proper alignment with the boat trailer. This method has numerous disadvantages. In addition to requiring a minimum of two people, there is an increased risk of possible injury caused by slippery surfaces, rocks, submerged glass, etc., along with the often undesirable but unavoidable need to get wet, as well as the physical strain associated with the winching operation.
With the numerous disadvantages inherent with the winching method, it is not surprising that several boat latches have been designed to overcome these disadvantages. Knies in U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,851 describes an automatic latch which hooks onto the bow hook of a boat. Robinson in U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,267 describes an automatic latch with spring loaded locking pin which is released by the bow ring to secure the boat. Boettcher describes a similar latch in U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,920 which has a spring loaded suspension system in addition to the spring loaded locking pin.